1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to circle making tools and particularly to circle making tools with solid bodies.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Craftsmen and artists have drawn circles for many purposes over the millennia. For the most part, circles are drawn using a compass. This is a device that has two legs that are joined at one end. One leg has a point of some type and the other has a marking instrument of some type. A user first opens the legs of the compass to the desired radius. The user then places the point at the center of where the circle is to be drawn and then moves the marking end around using the pointed end as an axle. In this way, circles and arcs can readily be drawn. One key problem with compasses is that they are limited to the ability of the compass to be opened. Another problem is that compasses may drift from their original setting, which makes drawing accurate circles more difficult. Finally, many compasses have no markings designating the size of the circle. That means a user must place the compass legs against a ruler or other measuring device. That may lead to measurement errors.
Some solutions for drawing large circles involve using a string tied to a nail at one end and to a pencil at the other. Users can simply stretch the string and draw a circle. Obviously, drawing accurate circles using this method is difficult. Not only is their the problem of accurately measuring the proper string length, the string may stretch or shrink during the drawing, which leads to measurement errors.
Some craftsman use a steel measuring tape by anchoring the tip with a nail and placing a pencil at the proper radius and then swinging the tape measure around the pivot point. This method too is prone to errors in the exact placement of the center, and the proper placement of the pencil.